1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to security systems and, more particularly, to security systems associated with the operation of medical devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sedation and analgesia system was developed to provide patients undergoing painful, uncomfortable or otherwise frightening (anxiety inspiring) medical or surgical procedures with a means for receiving sedative, analgesic, and/or amnestic drugs safely in a way that reduces the risk of overmedication with or without the presence of a licensed anesthesia provider. By reducing the number of potential failure modes potentially associated with anesthesia machines, a sedation and analgesia systems has been rendered safer for use in hospital and ambulatory environments and may be operated by individuals other than trained anesthesiologists such as, for example, certified registered nurse anesthetists, trained physicians, or other licensed operators. The sedation and analgesia system has gone far to meet the anesthesia needs of office based practitioners who are unable to afford or schedule anesthesia providers for every procedure where sedation and analgesia would be beneficial. The advent of a sedation and analgesia system devoted to these purposes provides these individuals with a drug delivery system integrated into a patient monitoring system that decreases the manual tasks and cognitive load that may be required by anesthesia machines, yet gives the clinician ultimate decision making responsibility following a “clinician knows best” philosophy. The reduction of many manual activities associated with anesthesia machines allows for a sedation and analgesia system to be operated without an anesthesia provider in ambulatory settings providing the patient with a cost-effective and readily available means of sedation.
However, the relatively easy operation of the sedation and analgesia system may lead to its inappropriate use by clinicians who have not been properly trained. Though the sedation and analgesia system has been designed for efficient and easy use by non-anesthetist practitioners, such systems remain sufficiently complex to require appropriate training before being used on patients. Because the sedation and analgesia system is designed to be an efficient, easily operable system, untrained clinicians may be tempted to use such systems on patients without having received formal training. If sedation and analgesia systems are used in such a manner by uncertified persons, patients may be put at considerable risk.
The potential for abuse of sedation and analgesia systems is also present in recreational drug users with access to such systems. Designed to prevent an overdose of medication to a patient during authorized medical procedures, recreational drug users may feel that they can use sedation and analgesia systems to self-administer narcotics and/or other illicit drugs safely. Use of the system for such purposes may result in severe adverse consequences due to the addiction to illicit drugs or overdose resulting from the use of drugs whose effects and concentrations may not be accounted for by the pharmacokinetic model of the sedation and analgesia system. The need has therefore arisen for a sedation and analgesia system that permits only authorized and properly trained clinicians to operate the system.
Chronic misuse of sedation and analgesia systems, even by trained individuals, may also result in severe patient complications. Such users may have access to sedation and analgesia systems, yet have insufficient training or experience to ensure patient safety during procedures involving sedation and analgesia. The need has therefore arisen for a sedation and analgesia system that records the personal information of a user as well as the presence or absence of critical system or patient episodes in order to ascertain whether users may require additional training in order to be allowed access to sedation and analgesia systems.